This is a video of Bill Nye answering some basic science questions asked by Twitter users, who presumably have science reports due tomorrow and didn't want to risk turning in the same copy/pasted article from Wikipedia like the rest of the class. Twitter: it's like an interactive encyclopedia for some people. A lot of the questions were so basic it made me wonder how the hell people were actually asking them. You know how some teachers say there's no such thing as a stupid question? Those teachers just don't want to be fired.

Keep going for the video while i rewatch the magnet part and listen to Bill bullshit about them not being magic stones created by wizards.

Thanks to IAmRon, who at least knows his name in case he gets separated from his parents.

Just don't ask him about Gender. He obviously doesn't have a degree in biology from his recent stand up musical act. Nor does he have a degree in economics from his California rant. Bill Nye the Comedy Guy is a fraud. Besides, didn't ICP ask this question ages ago?

HackTheGibson

111 Comments, mostly about global warming... and no one mentions his flip flop on GMOs? How about that his degree is in engineering yet speaks like he has a PhD in every field of science?

Bling Nye

Probably because the GMO thing is entirely tangential? Funny how people can change their minds ("flip flop" is such an ignorant term in this case) when presented with new information, isn't it?

As for the degree issue you bring up, it's also remarkable that people can continue to educate themselves beyond a classroom. In spite of not having "a PhD in every field of science," the things he says are not wrong; if they were wrong, he'd be called out and corrected.

Sit down.

HackTheGibson

Flip flop is the exact word. The issue was that no new information was presented. Had something new come out, then yes it would be inappropriate. He argued against some of the exact arguements that he now makes for GMO. I am not opposed to GMO and find most of the opposition silly, but I hate people who just follow the money more.

As for degree, no continuing outside the classroom or honorary degrees do not make him the spokesman for the field. If I want to be educated in a field of science, I would rather look to the experts than the kids tv show host. As for calling him out, look to the GMO. He was called out and years later finally changed all the while people ignored his errors and even supported them.

So you might follow the Blues Clues 2.0 guy but I will continue to be educated by those who know the science or submit my own papers for review.

Bling Nye

You are woefully behind the times if you think there's been no new information between 2005 and today. Laughably so, really.

"The world is a complex system, and each ecosystem is equally delicate. Until recently, the idea of messing with the natural order of crops was thought to be dangerous – too much was either left unknown or had devastating consequences. Consider the cane toad in Australia, first introduced from Hawaii in an attempt to control pesky crop-eating beetle populations. Because they have no natural predators in Australia, cane toads quickly spread beyond control, eating crops and spreading diseases. Introducing new strains of crops could have similar effects on local ecosystems.

But in the years since Bill Nye has changed his tune, citing several reasons GMOs are a good thing. The planet’s population is growing, and by the middle of this century it is expected to hit nine million people. There’s a general consensus among scientists that GMOs are not the evil we once thought, rather they allow us to grow more food, more efficiently.

GMOs are already strictly regulated, because of the concerns that Nye and many scientists of the last decades have shared. With rules in place to protect ecosystems and humans alike, GMOs safely allow for bigger, better crops that can be grown in rich soil or non-arable land.

Nye raises the interesting point that GMOs can and do occur naturally in the world without human meddling, as genes in crops can change over time due to mutations. Sweet potatoes exist only because of a virus that changed the plant a long time ago,. Humans liked what they saw, and cultivated the sweet potato to widespread approval.

Taking all these things into account, Bill Nye has come to a conclusion: since the population of the world is going to need more food, since technology has improved to the point that it’s easier to judge the environmental risks or benefits, and because genetically modified crops are typically modified for the better, GMOs are not so bad. They might even be good." - http://bigthink.com/videos/...

Things change man. I'd also add that humans have been engaged in creating GMO crops since they started cultivating plants. You ever see what a banana used to look like prior to selective breeding by humans? Apples? Watermelons? Corn?

Nye is an educator, he educates. By all means, seek education from experts, but also keep in mind he's just making these things more accessible to the general public. You read a lot of scientific papers? You must if you submit your own papers for review (what field are you in then, by the way?) You ought to know then how hard they are to comprehend for the average person with little to no science education. Nye is just one of MANY sources of information and he's presenting it in a way that makes it more broadly accessible to the public.

You really have zero argument here on the two absurd points you brought up, which are entirely tangential anyway.

Nah, I enjoy the site. I run into dumb fuckers all the time, you're nothing special, certainly nothing to make me run anywhere. lol

"critical thinking safe spaces" wtf does that even mean? Hahaha

Deksam

Hahah go on laugh, your side is losing. Calling names wakes more of us up. exactly why Trump won!

TheQiwiMan

Dude, neither side should be calling names. I fall into this trap myself more often than I'd like to admit.

I'm working on it, but seeing people advocating a blind belief in people who's very livelihoods depends on a specific outcome of their own supposedly unbiased research just makes me sad. (It's extra hypocritical since the majority are the kind of people who (rightfully) mock the religious types for their beliefs in infallible beings of myth)

One thing's for sure, getting emotional about this topic is not helpful for either side.

Deksam

I am trying hard not to, but that side it is a free for all, they have no self control.

Bling Nye

I don't give a fuck about sides or winning or losing. You clearly don't even know what game it is that's being played. But seeing you're a Trump supporter actually explains quite a lot. Hopefully he won't fuck over our nation too badly, but his track record indicates otherwise. Time will tell. What do you think of all his time spent at Mar-a-Lago, spending 7 of 13 weekends there, after he said he'd basically never leave the White House? LOL! That lie is telling, but also then consider how much the fucker is costing us for each trip!

Deksam

Hahahhahahahaha in the wake the oblamer, that is super funny!!!

Who did you want hillary, bernie???Bahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!

"Critical thinking"..... Bahahahahahahahah!!!

Trump is the 1st president to be hated for doing exactly what he said he would do.

LOVE THE TRUMP!

Love Trump's love.

Go burn a flag or something, bling...

Bling Nye

You're mentally unhinged. That's pretty clear now.

But just for funsies, I supported Bernie. Still do. Voted for Hillary as the lesser of two evils, because at least with her our social systems wouldn't be so shit upon.

Just curious, what does Trump do for you beyond stroke your self-image? Are you benefiting in some way besides feeling like you're a "winner" by proxy?

Given all the cuts he has made or plans to make, he stands to have the most harmful impact of any President, ever. I hope you don't wake up one day and realize he's shit your bed.

Bernie is a socialist, anyone who is for socialism is an idiot... As socialism has never ever worked once, all throughout history. Millions and millions of people have died trying to get away from it, and yet not one person has ever been killed trying to leave capitalism.Heck, look at Venezuela right now and that should tell anyone it is still the worst idea in the world. But yet idiots still want it... America dodge a huge death blow bullet with hillary... Hillary was way too weak physically and often had seizures, she flip flops on many issues all the time, she ran away from her podium when she lost like a girly coward, like she would if she won the office. Super corrupt, bald face lies with a smile like obama. She was a huge security breach and leaked top secret info a lot. Has a huge anti American agenda, was going to ban all guns if elected stemming from her choice of supreme court picks. Many people have committed suicide with 3 shots to the back of the head days before testifying against her. etc, etc... But yet idiots still voted for her. I hope you wake up one day and realize she's shite in your head.